MICHAEL JALARU TORRESDjugun–Yawuru immersive artist, photographer and founder of Blak Lens.

Michael Jalaru Torres is a Djugun–Yawuru immersive artist, fine art photographer and poet, with connections to the Gooniyandi, Jabbir Jabbir and Ngarluma peoples. Founder of Blak Lens, he has exhibited nationally and internationally at leading institutions and festivals, including the Ballarat International Foto Biennale, Red Earth Arts Festival, Incinerator Gallery and Blak Dot Gallery. Torres’ work was the focus of a solo exhibition at the Art Gallery of Western Australia in 2022.

Recently, Torres developed a prototype through Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts’ boorda yeyi Intensive Mentorship program, collaborating with technical artist Michael Ovens and Ballardong/Noongar writer and mentor Timmah Ball. The resulting mixed reality work, Nagula Girradiny/Oceans of the Moon, animates significant elements from Yawuru Country, including the Baylor shell and the moon pool. Anchored in the Djugun–Yawuru dreaming story of the full moon, Bilyar, the work shares the story of the Blue Moon Boy and the Moon Boy, revealing how the moon came to rest in the sky.

Torres regards immersive technology as a powerful medium for new forms of storytelling. Through his boorda-yeyi Intensive Mentorship, Torres has used research, development and prototyping to explore how knowledge can be conveyed as a shared relationship with the stars, demonstrating technology’s potential as a tool for preservation and connection.

EXPERIMENTS IN IMMERSIVE ARTS

Hannah Mathews, Director/CEO, Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts

Michael Jalaru Torres (Djugun–Yawuru), immersive artist, photographer and founder of Blak Lens; boorda yeyi Intensive Mentorship participant

Hannah Mathews and Michael Jalaru Torres discuss PICA’s boorda yeyi Intensive Mentorship program, considering how it opens access to emergent technologies and skilled collaborators. Their exchange highlights the potential of immersive practices and cross-disciplinary collaboration to build resilience and create pathways in contemporary art.